In Your Corner
by Bettakappa
Summary: Juliette arrives home after the Highway 65 party feeling alone and depressed. This isn't the first time she had screwed up. But despite all of her flaws and mistakes, there is always someone in her corner.
1. Chapter 1

In Your Corner - Chapter 1

_Juliette arrives home after the Highway 65 party feeling alone and depressed. This isn't the first time she's screwed up. But despite all of her flaws and mistakes, there is always someone in her corner._

* * *

Juliette walked back into her modernist home after a rough evening. It sparkled and gleamed in the Nashville night light, but that was when she hated this house the most. Coming home to such a clean and blank palate with no one there was a feeling she was all too familiar with.

But not recently. Recently she started a relationship with Avery Barkley, and she couldn't have been happier. He was seemingly the typical bad-boy guitarist, which definitely hadn't been her type, but the sincere friendship they formed opened the door to the romance. Ever since he "accidently" bumped into her backstage two years ago, he was always on her side and always wanted the best for her, which Juliette really appreciated. In her old life, the people that were around her had their own agendas and eventually all of them abandoned her.

That's why she was so upset when she got home from the Highway 65 party. She had let the jealous, narcissistic, old-Juliette get in the way of the new hand she was dealt. And before that she had fought with Avery which made her feel alone and upset. It just wasn't her night.

Which is why she wanted to put it behind her and go to sleep ASAP. When she walked into her bedroom she jumped back a bit at first when she saw a figure in the bed. But instantaneously she realized it was Avery. Her heart softened and it was unreal how much more comfortable and happy she felt seeing that slick black hair on the pillow.

Juliette climbed into bed and just stared at his features. He certainly wasn't the bright smile Prince Charming-build that she had involved herself with in the past, but it didn't matter. She was "pissed" at him for agreeing to produce his ex girlfriends album but the more she stared at him the more it became apparent...for once in her life he wasn't going anywhere.

Avery turned a bit and opened his eyes to see her staring right at him in bed.

"Hey." He smiled softly.

"Hey." She replied, touching his face gently.

"So about that party-"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

Avery sighed, "I'm sorry I wasn't there with ya."

"I may not be able to reverse what I did over there." She said, staring forward, realizing that she wasn't able to make eye-contact just yet.

"Listen, I know-"

"But I want, more than anything, to reverse what I did before that." Juliette finally said, swallowing her pride and finally communicating to the person she cared about most.

"Well I want to reverse it too, that's why I'm here." Avery explained, "Truth is, I can't be mad at you for more than five minutes before I want to be right by your side again."

"I know, and you're perfect." Juliette told him, "You're perfect and I'm an idiot who got mad and angry and…."

"Pissed." He smiled.

"Yes, pissed." She rolled her eyes playfully, "I got pissed and I'm sorry for acting that way and not talking to you about it."

"I forgive you. And just to be clear you've got nothing to worry about. I'm in your corner, although you did tell me once that I didn't count..." he trailed off.

Juliette graciously smiled. She believed him, "I know, and I wish I could be more like you. Instead of storming off you stayed right here and wanted to make things right."

Avery shrugged, "It's pretty simple actually. No matter how mad I can be, it doesn't change how much I love ya."

Juliette blinked and Avery knew why.

The "L" word.

The old Juliette would have ripped herself out of bed and ran far far far away. This was too much emotional investment, too fast...it was her normal recipe for relationships and ones she'd had so far ended in annulments, credit-card theft, murder/suicides, adultery, and losing her entire career.

But this time, there was something in her entire body that kept her right there, in her bed, with the man that had saved her in so many ways. She swallowed a bit and tried to hide the watery-ness that was forming in her eyes, "I love you too, Avery."

She tried to read his reaction. It was as if he was shocked, but at the same time not at all. He shook his head with that same grin, "Damn it Jule, you're gonna make me cry." he whispered.

"Well join the club." Juliette laughed through the tears that were now covering her eyes.

"Come here." Avery offered, and Juliette wandered into his arms. He kissed her lips to which she happily obliged, "Mmmhmm."

"You know what I love most about you?" Juliette asked.

Avery's eyes got wide, "Dear lord."

"I love that you treat me like Juliette, and not pop….well, ex-pop country star Juliette Barnes. I mean if you didn't then you'd get run out of town but-"

"Nah, I don't care what others think, I think you're special. What the rest of the world doesn't see is a sweet, caring, perfect, determined, smart woman who for whatever reason chose to be with some poor guitarist."

Juliette frowned, "You are not some poor guitarist, you're a talented, honest, brilliant, protective man...and my best friend."

"You're my best friend too, you know."

Juliette laughed a bit and reciprocated his high five. It was unreal how comfortable and happy she felt right then and there in his arms. She knew could get through the Highway-65 dilemma, and anything for that matter, with him by her side.

"Do I smell a power couple?." Avery lamented.

"Ha." Juliette wore a look, rolling her eyes, "Let's just hope I didn't ruin my new label…"

"You'll be fine," Avery drawled, "Trust me."

"Boy, you better be right."

"Speaking of which, I heard that song you sang with Rayna."

Juliette was intrigued, "Ah, what'd you think?"

"It was damn good. I just was wondering about the chorus, 'I love that boy, but he ain't gonna change.?"

Juliette laughed, "Yeah, you see, it was about my boyfriend…"

Avery played along, "Really…"

"If he doesn't change his hair-"

"My hair?!" Avery whisper-yelled, protectively holding onto his head.

Juliette laughed hysterically and Avery laughed too, "I hate you."

"I love you too, and your dumb hair." she laughed, running her hands through his hair and giving his mane a peck.

Avery playfully rolled his eyes, "Goodnight babe."

"Night." Juliette said, relishing the taste of his lips on hers one last time before she closed her eyes, wearing the most content grin on her face.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first shot in the wonderful world of Nashville and I just had to write something for Avery and Juliette because they are just pure gold as a couple. This fic has multi-chapter potential so hit up the reviews and let me know what you thought! Thank you so much!**

**Best,  
Bettakappa**


	2. Chapter 2

In Your Corner, Chapter 2

**Long chapter ahead! Hope you guys are ready for some Deacon, Rayna, &amp; Luke. Enjoy!**

When she woke up, the sun was shining on the spot where Avery was the night before. Juliette frowned in her half-slumber state and reached over to feel a piece of paper right where he was.

_Jul, Had to go meet Deacon for some final touch-ups on the album. Sorry I couldn't be here when you woke up, but I'll call you as soon as I can. Love you, Avery._

It was written in his scratchy-song-writer handwriting and it was short, sweet, and simple. Juliette closed her eyes and smiled. After the rough life she'd had, it was nice to finally get something right in her life.

* * *

"Avery, man, good to see ya!" Deacon said as Avery walked in.

Avery gave a friendly smile, "How ya been?"

"This album, I've been listening to it and it's just...it's everything I wanted. And I just wanted to thank you, personally."

Avery bowed his head in gracious, "Well thank you, but it's your voice on that vinyl."

Deacon smiled, "I know, I know, but I had this vision, and...you made that vision fifty times better than anything I could'a done. You're a real talent, boy."

"That means a lot to me, Deacon." Avery smiled.

"Hey, tomorrow night, if you aren't doing anything, I'm gonna have a little release party at the Blue Bird. Real casual, small, ya know, and since you produced the thing I would really like it if you came." Deacon said. He then grinned a bit and said, "And that girl of yours can come too."

Avery playfully groaned, "Dang, I thought this was gonna be one of those events that only I got invited to."

"Hardly call it an 'event'" Deacon chuckled, " But hey, I know how ya feel, I've been hangin' around A-listers half my life, and I've been the 'plus-one' too many times."

Avery knew that he meant Rayna and it hit him that their situations were pretty similar….except he wasn't a recovering alcoholic who'd ruined the chances of being with the love of his life. Avery made a quick note to himself to never let that happen, although he joined the entire population of Nashville who knew Rayna and Deacon were meant for each other.

"Well I'm sure we'll be there. She adores ya, you know."

Deacon blushed at the compliment and explained, "It took us a while to get there, but you know Jules."

Avery nodded with a knowing smile and let Deacon continue, "But she's a great girl, she's like family to me. I'm glad ya'll are finally together."

"Thanks, man...wait did you said finally?" Avery quizzically asked.

"You two spent a lot of time together, ya know, you were a groupie, then a guitarist, and then a songwriter, producer….you stood by her, got close to her. She don't let many people in but she let you in, and I seen the way ya'll looked at each other."

Avery was now the one blushing...Deacon Claybourne noticed that kind of thing?

"Well she means a lot to me."

Deacon nodded, "Glad to hear it, it's about time she has some in her life that cared about her."

* * *

The country rockers said their goodbyes and Avery went back to his apartment to change into some clean clothes. Quickly after, he went to Rayna James' home aka the HQ of Highway 65.

Bucky answered the door, "Hey, Avery, come on in."

"Thank you." Avery offered, and walked in.

Scarlett and Rayna were sitting at the breakfast table and both smiled at Avery.

Rayna flashed her trademark whites and talked business, "Avery, I've heard your work, it's wonderful. We're excited, already jump-started on the album so we need to-"

All of a sudden, Juliette walked in from the bathroom. Avery gave her a confused look and she gave one right back, joining in on the conversation.

"Avery, hey." Juliette harmlessly said to which Avery scrunched his eyes.

"Hi?"

Rayna kept speaking, "Okay, so you worked on tour with Juliette, produced a track for her, so no introductions needed."

"None at all." He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

They continued meeting for a half hour until Rayna called break to check in on Daphne.

Scarlett had to go as well, so Avery and Juliette were left alone.

"I didn't know you'd be here." Juliette said.

"I didn't know you'd be here either." Avery agreed, "Hey, what was with that cold introduction?"

Juliette looked down, "I don't want to ruin anything for you, you know, professionally. People's lives tend to collapse when I'm involved with them."

Avery rolled his eyes, "Jul, come on…"

"I'm doing you a favor, Avery."

"Okay!" Rayna said, coming back, causing Avery and Juliette to immediately sit back straight and look as un-together as possible, "Scarlett's getting some shots taken for the cover art, so let's keep going with those mini-tour ideas."

A few minutes later, Luke walked in wearing sweatpants and a tshirt. He was clearly shocked at the meeting that was taking place, but he wore it like a pro,

"Hey ya'll." He said and Rayna playfully smiled.

"Everyone, you know my boyfriend, Luke."

Luke targeted Avery in particular, "Barkley, I heard your work on Deacon's album, you're a damn good talent."

Avery smiled and Juliette subtly winked at him as Luke continued, "Too bad my lady picked you up before we got our hands on ya!"

"Well thank you, I'm very happy to be here."

"Even though he's from Edgehill, we're lucky we have this fantastic guy on our side." Rayna gushed, "He's pretty good on the eyes to."

Avery noticed Juliette stare at the couple so sickingly in love. He could tell that she wanted something like that. Someone not afraid to publicly acknowledge something _good_ about her. Everyone was so quick to talk about the bad in Juliette Barnes, but no one ever talked about the good.

"Yeah, yeah." Luke joked, "Anyway, I'm just jealous that Miss Rayna assembled such an all-star team. Avery, that whole "Don't put dirt on my grave" track was just outstanding."

Avery thanked Luke graciously but was sure to add, "But the writing was all Juliette, and she sung the hell out of it. I didn't have to touch it much after she was done with it." After he said that, Juliette visibly perked up and looked at him with adoring eyes, "I'm telling you, she is gonna take this label above and beyond."

Luke looked impressed, "That's high praise, Miss Barnes. If you got this fella on your side, you're in good shape."

Juliette smiled at Avery, "I know, I'm very lucky to have him in my corner."

Avery's heart swelled at her admission. He was in her corner, and she was his everything, so he decided to do something about it. He scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Juliette looked at him, body rigid at first, but he could feel her relax as their eyes met.

"I'm the lucky one." he said, leaving it at that, yet letting the words linger for Juliette to devour letter by letter. If any woman deserved to have her man stand by her side, it was gonna be his woman, and it was gonna be Juliette Barnes.

Luke and Rayna both wore curious faces, and Luke asked,"Ya'll an item?"

Juliette smiled shyly and Avery got wide eyes, giving her an answer.

"Well I like it." Rayna said, breaking her silence. "Ya'll make great music, ya'll look great, it's…"

"Great!" Luke finished for her with a snarky smile.

"Alright," Rayna laughed, "Before this tour starts up, take a week to yourselves and your families, I'll have Bucky get in touch with Glenn when we start things back up."

"Sounds great, ya'll have a good one." Juliette offered and Avery nodded, following his girlfriend out of the room.

"Oh my god!" Rayna mouthed to Luke with a smile as soon as the couple left.

Luke shrugged, "There's no tellin' when it comes to love, darling."

* * *

Avery got to his car, "How'd you get here? I didn't see your car on the way in."

"Rayna and I were at the studio, I drove with her here." Juliette said.

"Alright, see you around." Avery replied, getting into his car solo.

Juliette ran to the passenger side, about to become ride-less, "Avery Barkley I swear to god."

He laughed and opened up the door easily and she got into his pickup, "Smart move."

Avery winked at her and they began to drive to her house.

"Hey, about what happened back there with Luke and Rayna...thank you."

"You don't have to thank me I was just-"

Juliette shook her head, "No, I know that you were looking at me when they were gushing over each other...you always know what I'm thinking." she finished, knowing that he was aware that she never had anyone on her side.

"Well I was upset too, you know."

"Really." Juliette looked at him.

"Yeah, Wheeler kept going on and on about how wonderful and amazing his girl is, and all I wanted to do was talk about my girl.

"You're perfect." She said smiling, and she meant it.

"Hey what are you doing this week?" Avery asked out of the blue.

Juliette stared forward. Vacations had always been hard because they were usually about family...and family was one thing that Juliette never got to have. She loved her mother, truly she did, but there was never any week off that passed normally or nicely.

"Uhm, I usually just go to a beach on the islands and hide away for a week."

Avery looked sideways, trying to bring this up in an appropriate manner, "As nice..and expensive…. as that sounds, um, I was gonna ask the exact opposite."

"What?" Juliette was confused.

"Nevermind, it's dumb, you should go relax and-"

"Avery, just spit it out, goodness!" she half-laughed, wondering why her normally composed boyfriend was stumbling over his words.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to drive down to Mississippi with me." he said, eyes not breaking from the road.

Juliette was curious, "What's in Mississippi?"

"My family."

Juliette was shocked. Internally her heart swelled. He wanted her to meet his family. She had always dreamed of the day when she was special enough in a man's eyes to be taken home to mom.

And then she felt terrified. If the past year or two was any indication, she was _not_ the type you'd want to take home to mom.

"You want me...homewrecker, don't-touch-her, social pariah Juliette Barnes to spend Christmas with your poor family?"

Avery rolled his eyes, "Come on, you know that's not who you are, that's just what the stupid media portray you as. It'll be fun, a roadtrip down to good 'ol Mississippi…"

"Are you sure this isn't gonna cause a problem for your fam-"

"Jul, I promise, they're gonna love you."

"Avery, you chose to overlook a _ton_ of my baggage when you signed up for this and-"

Avery laughed, "An amazing, talented, smart, and absolutely gorgeous woman showed up at my front door with pink macaroni and gave me the best kiss of my life. What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh my god." she bit her lip, secretly smiling at the memory of that night. But she was feeling legitimately inadequate right now. She knew Avery genuinely thought she was special, but she still hadn't figured out _why the hell he thought that._

"You take the macaroni and tell me I'm a messed up girl with too many problems and you don't want to be involved."

Avery looked appalled, "Juliette! You don't understand! Being with you isn't a chore, it's not a job, it's not a hassle. And you don't need to be insecure, don't you think I wonder why a mega-pop star chose to love me? But that's the thing about love, I didn't apply, or sign up to love you, it just happened. And it's been…"

He was trying to find the words to describe what he felt. He tried to think of big words, or a meaningful soliloquy. But what came out was straight from his heart:

"You are the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

Juliette just blinked once, a tear falling from her eye. He was like Yoda sometimes, so wise and always knowing what to say. The love she had for this man was unreal.

"I'd tell you the same thing, but it's an understatement."

And it was. Her life had never been that great. Her rising to fame was only achieved by her ruthless hard work (plus Glenn) and all the accolades and awards she got by destroying everything in her way and trying to forget the past were nowhere near as filling as driving in a car with her perfect person.

She kept being difficult, "Before I say yes, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"

"Vacation's about spending time with the people you love, and there's no one I love more than you." Avery said, hoping that would convince her.

Juliette wore a smile that could sustain a city, "Okay."

"That's my girl."

**A/N: So there we have it! Next chapter is Mr. Deacon's release party and then Javery is headed to Mississippi to meet the Barkley family. Thank you all for reading this story, I hope to hear from you guys in the reviews!**

**Best,  
Bettakappa**


	3. Chapter 3

In Your Corner - Chapter 3

* * *

It was Saturday, and while Avery was beyond excited for the trip to see his family, Juliette couldn't have been more terrified. They departed on Monday, so there was time to talk about that later.

Tonight was Deacon's_ Live at the Bluebird _release party, an event that both people in the Barnes-Barkley relationship could enjoy.

"I'm real happy for Deacon, it was always his dream to be a solo artist" Juliette said, pouring herself a glass of water.

"Really, I thought his dream-job was being Juliette Barnes' band leader." Avery joked with an adorable sarcastic smile as he sat on the couch in the living room.

Juliette gave him a look, "If I didn't love that couch so much, you'd have this water all over you."

"Easy there, baby, it was just a joke." He laughed, well aware of the fact that she knew that. Juliette joined him and moved into his side, wiggling to gain max body contact with him. It was weird for her to feel that way...to want to be around somebody constantly. To want to touch them and breathe them in and just have them around. She never felt that way with Sean, not with Charlie, not with Dante and it was comforting that she knew exactly why.

Avery looked down at his girlfriend and proudly wrapped his arm around her shoulder as her face rested on his chest. Never in a million years did he ever imagine to be so in love with a person. Juliette was a complicated character but when it came down to her plus him, it was the simplest thing in the entire world.

"What are you thinkin' about?" she said in that twang that he loved so much.

"You." he replied simply, head still in the clouds.

Juliette looked up and laughed, "Wow, what a generic boyfriend answer. I thought you were a song-writer, honey, you can do better than that."

Avery rolled his eyes, " I was thinkin' about you, Jules, honestly."

Juliette felt a little bad after mocking him for that, but that still didn't change the fact that she wanted to know what he was talking about. She fiddled her hands over his scruff and wondered aloud, "What about me?"

"Always Miss Curious."

"Answer the question, Barkley."

"It's gonna sound cheesy…"

"I love cheese." she snapped back, her eyes twinkling in his. Avery groaned, knowing his get-to-the-bottom-of-it girlfriend would never let it go.

"I was just thinking how...I don't know, just about how amazing it is that two years ago I was a nameless nobody who rammed into you backstage and now I'm-"

"You're my entire world." she finished for him, stroking his face gently.

Avery smiled, "I don't think about it very often, but once in a blue moon it hits me that I'm dating Juliette Barnes. International music icon, country music super-talent, and one of the world's sexiest women alive Juliette Barnes."

"Avery, you know one of the things I love most about you is that you don't think of me like that."

He sighed, "I know, but you can't blame me for thinkin' about it once or twice. I'm completely out of my league here."

His insecurities finally hit her in verbal format. He had tried hard to take the tough-guy approach to move beyond it, but it was clear that he didn't feel worthy of her.

"Did something happen...where's all of this coming from?" Juliette wondered.

He decided to be honest with her, "It was backstage…."

"What did he say to you." she breathed like fire, knowing that Charlie was involved.

"I tried not to let him get to me. I pretended like he didn't get to me, but he kinda had a point, I'm just a roadie who-"

"Avery Barkley, are you jealous of Charlie Wentworth?" Juliette came to realize, trying to hide the small grin growing from her lips.

"No…maybe….I don't know, why are you smiling?" He looked up to see a full-blown smile on his girlfriend's face.

"I knew it!" she said, doing a very small fist-pump.

"Seriously, Juliette." he said with a twang of annoyance. Juliette caught it and made sure to tame the growing anger in him.

"I'm sorry, I'm not making fun of you." she explained, "I thought it was so weird how you instantly agreed to let me talk to Charlie, and then you were so relaxed when I said he tried to kiss me-"

"He did kiss you." Avery growled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know but it was gross and weird." Juliette blew it off, "Trust me, the only person I want on the other side of these lips is you."

Something about that sentence flipped the switch for him. He was able to crack a smile, looking at the gorgeous woman who just basically said that he was hers forever. He meant what he said to Charlie, that Juliette couldn't be bought and that she thought he was worthy.

For them, insecurities on both sides of the relationship had always been their achilles heel. But it was clear that the complete respect and love that they had for each other would always trump the very minute demons.

"So I'm a better kisser than Wentworth?" he asked to lighten the mood and Juliette let out a smile, knowing that he wasn't mad anymore.

She turned her neck to sweetly kiss him, savoring the taste of his lips and pouring enough passion into it to let him know just how much she wanted _him._

"Mmmmm." she hummed as they both pulled away, "Much better."

Avery looked at his watch, "It's about time we head to the Bluebird, what do ya say?"

"I'm all yours, Barkley."

* * *

Once they got to the cafe, Avery and Juliette walked hand-in-hand inside where the place was full to capacity of Deacon's friends and family. Avery gave his girlfriend a quick kiss before going into "producer-mode" to help Deacon set up.

Juliette walked over to where Maddie, Daphne, Rayna, and Luke were standing at a table. Rayna made eye contact with her artist and smiled, leading her boyfriend and youngest daughter away so that her oldest daughter could spend some time with her favorite country star.

"Hey, girl!" Juliette said, giving Maddie a hug. The oldest Conrad (Claybourne?)'s face lit up when they broke apart.

"Juliette, I'm so happy you're here! I haven't talked to you in forever"

"No place I'd rather be." Juliette smiled, "How are ya?"

"All the paparazzi have let off a bit, and the GMA interview helped a lot, I think. I'm just still trying to get used to all of this." Maddie explained.

"Yeah, I hear ya, that media's been a foe of mine since day one."

Maddie nodded and then wanted to change topics, "So that's your boyfriend that you came in with, right? He's really cute."

Juliette couldn't help the smile that overcame her face. It seemed like anytime Avery or their relationship was mentioned, she got that smile.

"Yep." Juliette proudly stated. "That is Avery Barkley, he was on my tour and we became friends and…."

"Now you're in loooooove." Maddie said with hearts in her eyes.

"Easy there, girl." Juliette laughed.

"Tell me about him!" Maddie continued.

Juliette bit her lip, "Well, he's at Highway 65 with your momma and produced your father's album…"

"Come on that's boring!" Maddie swooned, not wanting to hear about her parents.

"Okay." Juliette laughed, "Two years ago he rammed into me backstage at my concert and I looked at him and he looked at me, and I always knew there was somethin' special about him."

"Aww!" Maddie gushed, "You're so in love, I can see it on your face!"

Juliette rolled her eyes playfully at the young girl, "I do love him very much. But hey, don't get any ideas, you're too young to like boys."

"I am not!" Maddie laughed. All of a sudden, Avery came up behind Juliette, "I was wonderin' where you escaped off to."

"Just hanging out with my favorite lead guitarist's daughter" Juliette smiled, "Avery, this is my friend Maddie, and Maddie, this is my boyfriend, Avery."

"Pleasure meeting you, Maddie." Avery kindly shook her hand.

"Same to you. Juliette talks about you all the time." Maddie gushed. Avery wore a satisfied face as he looked at Juliette, who looked shocked.

"I do not!" She said, as the other two laughed.

"Of course you don't, babe." Avery winked and wrapped his arm around her.

Their pointless banter was interrupted by Deacon who joined in on the conversation,

"Well look at that, three of my favorite people."

"Deacon!" Juliette hugged him, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you, ma'am." Deacon smiled, "Hey, if it isn't too much to ask, I'd like you to give my introduction before I play my set."

"You want me to do that?" Juliette was flabbergasted, "I'd...I'd be honored."

"Wonderful." he said, "This whole shindig starts at eight so someone'll give you the nod when its time."

Maddie and Deacon walked off together, leaving Juliette and Avery. Juliette reached out for a side-hug, resting her shoulder on his chest. He protectively wrapped an arm around her shoulder as her arm clung around his waist.

"That would be me." Avery said, turning with a smile.

"I should'a known, Mr. Producer would be in charge." Juliette said.

Avery kissed the top of her head, "Got a problem with that, baby?"

She returned the favor with a soft peck to his chest, "Not at all.

"Alrighty then, let's do this." Avery said, squeezing her for a second, then going up on stage.

"Hello everyone." He said as the crowd hushed, "My name is Avery Barkley, I work here at the Bluebird and tonight as you all know, we have a very special evening planned. So to introduce our man of the hour, I'd like to welcome a woman who is very special to Deacon...and to myself," Avery looked over to catch Juliette staring at him with such love and devotion in that moment. His heart soared and he just wanted to spit it out so he could hug the love of his life.

"Please welcome CMA and Grammy award winner, country superstar, and one of Nashville's own...Juliette Barnes!"

Juliette walked up on stage and immediately gravitated to Avery's arms. She hugged him for a brief second before he surprisingly planted a small kiss on her cheek. Juliette smiled and touched his face warmly before breaking away and standing in front of the mic.

"Thank you, honey, for that wonderful introduction. Do ya'll see why I keep him around?" Juliette joked and the crowd laughed. Juliette loved that she could be so open and relaxed about her relationship. Gone were the days where she snuck around with Charlie or she dated Dante against literally everyone's advice. Now she was in the best place with the best man, and it meant the world that she could tell everyone how happy she was.

"Anyway, tonight we're here for one reason, to celebrate the achievements of the one and only, Deacon Claybourne." Juliette started, leaving some time for applause, "Deacon and I have known each other for a while, but we got very close when he came on as band-leader for my tour. And I knew his accomplishments, how he's played for and with every hall of famer out there, and how truly magical he is with that guitar in his hand. But I hired him because unlike most people, he wasn't afraid to stand up to me. So on tour, naturally, we fought, and we fought, and we fought." Juliette laughed, relishing in the memory, "There were some times I treated him like absolute dirt, but there was never a moment where I didn't love and respect Deacon Claybourne."

She slowed down, taking time to take in the crowd, "But in these last few months especially, as much as I admire that he stood up _to_ me, what really makes him special is the fact that he stood up _for_ me, in my darkest times. When country music disowned me, Deacon never wavered. He told me to ignore the hate, and to keep sharing my gift...words that are so meaningful to me now. He didn't care if his association with me hurt his career or his image. He saw me as a friend, and friendship, as you all know, is what Deacon values most."

She saved the last part to say right to the guitarist, "Deacon, I can never truly tell you how much your friendship means to me. You're a wise, talented, humble, generous, and caring man who everyone in this room loves so much. We're all so proud of you."

Deacon had a tear in his eye as he nodded at Juliette in grattitude, "Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the stage Mr. Deacon Claybourne!"

Deacon hopped on stage and hugged his former boss, "Love you, Ju." he whispered in her ear, and Juliette held on tighter.

Eventually she let Deacon get to playing, and rejoined her boyfriend on the floor. Avery instantly wrapped his arm around her, "That was incredible."

All Juliette could do in that moment of bliss was kiss him. Avery was taken aback by it for a second, then relaxed and smiled against her wonderful lips.

"I'm not the one who just debuted an album." Avery joked, citing the surprise kiss.

"I love you." Juliette whispered as they swayed to the music.

"I love you, too." Avery said proudly.

Juliette stood in the place she loved, with her friends that she loved, in the arms of the man she loved. After such a rough patch in her life, she couldn't have imagined being happier than she was in that moment.

* * *

**A/N: Another long chapter! I don't know how I feel about this one, there isn't really much going on. I just wanted to highlight Juliette's relationship with Deacon and Maddie...that's some of the best stuff on the show. I also wanted to keep pushing the Javery insecurity thing because I think that's a really interesting and believable part of their relationship. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and be sure to review!**

** Best, **

** Bettakappa**


	4. Chapter 4

In Your Corner - Chapter 4

* * *

"Jules, baby, it's time to go." Avery said, shaking her from her slumber.

"I know, I know...I've been awake for a while." she grumbled, finally releasing herself from the warmth of her sheets.

"Really?" he asked, zipping away some final clothes in his suitcase, "I didn't feel you moving around at all last night."

Juliette looked at him, "That's because you were in a deep deep sleep, Barkley. At one point I got up to get some water, and I tried to you know, shove you a bit so that you'd let me go but you wouldn't budge. I had to literally wiggle out from under you, 'cause would not wake up."

Avery was amused, "I'm sorry I made you prison break from my arms."

"As soon as I got my water I went right back into them, so don't worry." she winked.

Avery smiled, If there was only one thing better than going to bed with Juliette Barnes, it was waking up next to Juliette Barnes. As their relationship progressed he found himself in her house at least five days a week, and the other two days odds are she was at his quaint apartment. When they were on tour away from Nashville, there was an unspoken rule that only one hotel room was necessary for the both of them. And they both wouldn't have it any other way.

Even though she normally got the best sleep when she was cuddled up next to her boyfriend, the reason for Juliette's lack-of-slumber was because of the four hour car-ride that was ahead of her. She was excited for the road-trip portion of the day, but only because her plus Avery plus the open road sounded like heaven.

Meeting the Barkley's was the problem.

Like she had thought before, she loved the fact that the guy she loved wanted her to meet his momma and dad and all of that. She worried for many reasons, and let the insecurities that she urged him to let go flood her mind.

She was more dangerous than a truck-stop hotdog. She was portrayed as Nashville's home-wrecker. Her mother was an addict. She got kicked out of Edgehill Republic. She got conned and it got her momma killed. She had no family. She was rich and irresponsible. Juliette was never that great at math, but even she knew the odds were stacked against her. _How_ could this possibly go well.

Avery loaded up his pick-up with their things and watched as she stood outside her house, staring at the truck like it was toxic.

"The car ain't gonna eat you, I promise." he shouted outside from the window.

"Oh shut up." she rolled her eyes, getting out of her funk and getting in the car.

Noticing she still wasn't talking, Avery turned the car off and she looked at him.

"Did you forget something?"

"No, but you need to forget something." he said.

Juliette got snippy with him, "If I wanted to date Yoda I would go-"

"Hey hey hey." he smiled, trying to calm her down, "I'm not trying to be cryptic, I just want to you forget those thoughts you're havin' right now."

Juliette softened her look. He got her.

"Barkley, you can read me like a book."

"I know." he grinned proudly, "That's why I know everything's gonna be fine."

"Everything's gonna be fine." she repeated, looking forward.

"Yes. So, promise me, no more negative thoughts the rest of this car ride."

"I swear." she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Wonderful." Avery said, turning the car back on and reaching over to grab her hand.

Juliette looked at him, and he looked at her. All the love and trust that was between them was understood with that one glance, no words were needed.

Now that she was feeling secure, Juliette wanted -or rather needed- to know some things, "How many people are in your family?"

Avery was shocked at such an out-there question, but then quickly understood, "Well I guess you should know that um, my parents are Paul and Judy, I have an older brother, Dustin, my sister Nicole and then my little sister Taylor, she's 17."

"Paul, Judy, Dustin, Nicole, Avery &amp; Taylor Barkley." she repeated, trying to remember.

"One big, happy family." he joked.

"Please, honey, you have no idea how lucky you are." she smiled, remembering how it all went to hell once her father died.

Avery didn't want to touch that subject so he said the first thing that came to him, "What's your favorite food?"

Juliette turned her head from looking out the window of the truck to look at him like he was an alien. He loved that look.

"What's this, twenty questions or something?" she asked.

"Sure." Avery reasoned, "We can use this ride to bond, you know, find out some stuff about each other."

"I think we've bonded a lot, if you know what I mean." Juliette laughed and Avery got wide eyes.

"Juliette Barnes, you're bad."

"See, you already knew that." she smirked.

"What's your favorite food, and alcohol doesn't count." he asked, waiting for the repercussions of that last comment.

Juliette bit her lip in the way that drove him crazy. If he wasn't careful, he was going to crash the car because he always wanted his eyes on her.

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." she said.

Avery did a small fist-pump, "I knew that!"

"There's no way in hell you knew that." she scoffed.

"Look in the cooler, see what I packed us for lunch." he confidently said.

"Avery Barkley I swear…" Juliette said, reaching behind her. Her eyes grew three sizes as her hands made contact with two perfectly made PB&amp;J's.

"You are the best boyfriend in the entire world." she said, still staring at the sandwiches like they were delivered from God, "By the way, your favorite food is mashed potatoes."

Avery let out a chuckle, "Yeah that's right."

"See, I know you too." Juliette smirked, "But sorry, I can't make them magically appear in a cooler."

They both laughed. Juliette was having the best time. She loved how she could be herself, her goofy, natural self around him. Avery, in the drivers seat, felt the same way. It always seemed that Juliette was the only one who truly knew him for who he really was, and the only one who cared for that matter.

"Okay, let's take this up a notch." Juliette said, "Who was your first kiss?"

Avery sighed, this had to come out sometime, "Scarlett. First day of college."

Juliette quickly played off the mention of his ex-girlfriend, "College, huh?"

"Hey, I wasn't always as drop-dead gorgeous as I am now." he replied.

Juliette ruffled her fingers through his slick hair, "Yeah, that's it. Mine was Danny Strait, middle school, new year's eve."

Avery curled his lips ever so slightly and Juliette loved it. For some reason, any mention of someone else kissing her, even in middle school, made Avery's protective side pop out. So to ease his extremely minor concern she said, "Don't worry, you're still the best kiss I've ever had."

He gave a half smile, "Good. When was Juliette Barnes' best day ever?"

"When I got inducted to the Opry. It just meant so much to be recognized in that place, with all my idols and mentors. And I got to sing our song for the first time, I don't care if half the world hated me, it was amazing."

"Nice." Avery agreed, "Mine, cheesy as it may sound, is today."

Juliette let him continue, "I'm going on a roadtrip from my current home to my hometown to see my family, I'm so excited, it's a beautiful day. My career is in an amazing place, I've gotten to do some amazing things, I finally have my girl and-"

Juliette couldn't help but smile, and then she thought for a second, "Wait right there buddy, you _finally_ have your girl?"

Avery didn't respond so she pushed harder, "Okay so next question, how long exactly did you want me?"

Her boyfriend fiddled with an answer in his mind, "I know I fell in love with you when we we're writing "Don't Put Dirt on my Grave"...it was like everything we'd been through was building it up and there was this one moment, when we finished the song, you looked at me and...I don't know...something changed, my heart just started pumping faster and I knew."

"Aw, honey, that's so adorable." she poked a little fun at him, but nonetheless was absolutely touched by his revelation.

"Yeah, yeah." He smiled, "How about you?"

"Everything I'll Ever Need." Juliette was able to spit out. No more words were needed because she knew Avery also remembered every detail of that wonderful night where she started to look at him like her world depended on it.

"What about your biggest fear?"

"Hmm." Avery thought, "Not being true to myself, not doing what I love. That's the kind of guy I was before I met you and...I hated that guy."

"My biggest fear is ending up like my momma. Absent druggy, no kid deserves that." she wondered aloud.

Something then, struck Avery. Boldy, he decided to ask, "Do you want kids?"

Juliette ran her hand through her hair, "You know, I always thought I'd be the worst mother and that I never wanted kids..."

Avery had a feeling he knew what she was going to say. But she was Juliette Barnes and could be surprising, so he let her continue.

"Until I met you and it hit me that I could finally have what I never did...a family. I think about our kids running around in a big 'ol yard and it's just…" she paused and looked forward, a slight smile approaching her features, "It's everything. No fame, no business, no awards, none of it matters when you have a family."

Avery agreed with her wholeheartedly. But his mind was stupidly caught up on one thing, "Did you say _our_ kids?"

Juliette's blush complimented Avery's, "It's not your turn to ask a question."

"Don't be embarrassed, I think about it too, you know." he admitted.

"You do?"

"Of course, I mean I don't want to spend my life with anyone other than you. And I think about how our little ones would be as beautiful and talented as their mother-"

"And as caring and wise as their father." Juliette finished for him.

"Damn, we'd make some perfect kids." Avery smiled to lighten the mood.

"Yeah well not for a while." Juliette said, "As much as I wanna have a family, I've got some things I need to do with my life before I bring others into it."

Avery quickly responded, "Like get married?!"

Juliette let out an audible yelp and Avery laughed, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, my goodness." Juliette gasped as she adjusted herself in her seat.

"I was just kidding, don't worry."

She squinted, "Wait, so you _don't_ want to marry me?"

His eyes got wide, "What, no, of course I do, that's-"

"So we're engaged?"

Avery squirmed. Was it getting really hot in here all of a sudden? "Um, I mean this obviously isn't the time or the place that I wanted this to happen but-"

All of a sudden Juliette bursted out laughing, and Avery's wide eyes finally looked over at her, "See how it feels?"

He bit his lip, a smile itching from his lips, "I hate you."

"Love you, too."

* * *

**A/N: For some reason, I watched the final two episodes of Season 2 this afternoon and wow those scenes were so intense I just needed to get some happy Javery going. It's been awhile for this fic, so hope everyone enjoyed their road trip game of 20 questions. Next chapter we're going to go inside and finally meet the Barkley's. **

**Also wanted to make a quick comment on how some incredible Javery fics are being produced as of late so I suggest everyone go and read it ALL. Like I said, incredible work.**

**Yinz be sure to review! -Bettakappa**


	5. Chapter 5

In Your Corner - Chapter 5

* * *

"And here we are, home sweet home!" Avery declared as he pulled into the quaint two-story home. Juliette was silent, and as soon as the house came into view her eyes marched up and down every brick, wanting to desperately to absorb information as quickly as possible.

Avery looked over at her as he put the car in park. He saw Juliette's ghostly demeanor and he rolled his eyes, "You're not going to have to take a quiz on what my house looks like."

Juliette's head snapped to the left to look at him. He was smirking sarcastically and she wanted to punch him in the face. Did he have no idea how freaked out she was right now? She was about to meet his family for goodness sake. Wait a minute, what were their names again?

"Your sister is Taylor and you have another older sister and…" she started blabbering.

"Juliette for the love of god would you please relax!" he laughed.

"Avery I'm seriously going to have a panic attack, I can't do this." she said quickly, palms sweating.

"You're Juliette Barnes." Avery smiled, "You can do anything."

"I am Juliette Barnes." she said in a serious tone, "I'm Juliette Barnes, and I am a country music award-winner. I am an artist who can sell out football stadiums, and I can make the media swarm like flies. I can do a lot of things, but the one thing I have never been able to do is be a good girlfriend. And for the first time in my life I want more than anything to be the girlfriend who can meet the family and make a good impression."

Avery sighed. If there was one thing about Juliette Barnes, it was that underneath her steel exterior was an extremely nervous and insecure girl who just wanted to be wanted. He had earned his way into her heart, and loved that she was so open talking about her issues with him. But at the same time it frustrated Avery to no end. She was more than trailer-trash covered in rhinestones, and she had to know how much she meant to him.

"Well good thing you don't have to go in there and be a 'good' girlfriend." He replied.

"What."

"You don't have to be a good girlfriend, you have to be Avery's girlfriend. And there is no one better at being Avery's girlfriend than you."

Juliette couldn't help but smile. He was so adorable and so right. Of all the roles she played, "Avery's girlfriend" was the one that she rarely thought about. It was like an iPhone app...it was always running in the background, but she rarely conciously thought about her impact in his life. If anything, his role as "Juliette's boyfriend" was without a doubt a top priority in his life. Whether he liked it or not, Avery was thrust into the spotlight the second he kissed her. Everywhere he went he was nameless Mr. Juliette Barnes. He wore it like a pro, so it was hard to tell sometimes how much it bothered him. Just when Juliette thought she couldn't admire him anymore, it was clear she hadn't set aside enough space in her heart for him.

"Do you honestly think I'm good at being your girlfriend?"

Avery chuckled, "Of course I do, Jule. And if I do say so myself, I think I'm pretty good at being Juliette's boyfriend..."

"The best." she interrupted him.

"Right." he smiled, "And the reason we work is because we care. We want to be there for each other, and no matter how hard something gets, we work through it because we work together. We're equals, so don't ever think you do less in the relationship. You make me ridiculously happy, and that's no accident."

She had thought about herself and her insecurities for too long. She had, no, she _wanted_ to do this for him. And maybe that was finally the "Avery's girlfriend" in her talking.

"Let's go." she said.

"That's my girl." Avery smiled and kissed her temple before hopping out of the truck.

A knock on the door and it was all real. A middle-aged woman answered the door. She had darker hair in a typical "mom-cut" style. "Avery!" she screeched.

Avery smiled and hugged her back, "Mom, it's good to see you."

"It's been too long, you work too hard young man!" his mom playfully scolded him.

"Well that would be her fault." Avery laughed, finally making Juliette's presence shown.

"Sorry." Juliette awkwardly waved.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Juliette."

"Juliette, sweetheart, it's so nice to finally meet you." Judy smiled, giving her son's girlfriend a sweet hug, "I'd say Avery has told me so much about you, but he only calls us once a month to basically say he's still alive so we have a lot to learn about each other."

Juliette smiled. But what Judy just said got her mind racing. It didn't surprise her that Avery had told his parents nothing about their relationship, he literally never talked about his family so she had expected that on both ends. She just wondered _why _he was so one-dimensional about this. He obviously wanted her to meet his parents, so why was he so secretive and private about his family and about her?

"Paul! Get out here!"

"Mom, Dad is out in the garage he can't hear you…." a teenaged voice rang through the halls. Suddenly a tall girl walked through the hallway. As soon as she looked up you could tell it was Avery's younger sister. She looked just like him, facial expressions in all as a look of pure shock and awe came over her face.

Avery smiled back, expecting his sister to come running into his arms, but the girl didn't move.

"Juliette…..you're Juliette Barnes."

Juliette wore a happy expression, "Hi."

"Oh my god I just met Juliette Barnes, I don't even know what to say." the girl started laughing nervously.

"How about you introduce yourself." Avery told her with an annoyed tone.

"I'm...I'm Taylor Barkley."

"It's very nice to meet you, Taylor."

"AH!" Taylor squeeled.

"She's a big fan." Avery muttered under his breath.

"I can see that." Juliette smiled.

"Avery, I know you worked for Juliette but I didn't know you guys were like actually friends." Taylor said, trying to compose herself.

"She's my girlfriend, you idiot." Avery laughed.

Taylor almost collapsed, "NO. FREAKING. WAY."

Juliette looked at Avery and whispered, "Why didn't you tell her we were dating?"

Avery looked on as his sister frantically typed on her phone and panted, "Because I wanted to see this reaction for myself."

"You are so mean." Juliette laughed.

"Hey, I'm her big brother, I'm allowed."

"Wait, wait, wait." Taylor came back to reality, "How long have you been dating Juliette Barnes.

"A little over a year."

"And you never told me!?"

"To be fair, I told you my girlfriend's name was Juliette, and you knew I worked on Juliette Barnes' tour."

"Yeah but…come on I didn't think they were the same person." Taylor said, "I didn't think you had a shot with Juliette Barnes."

"Thanks, sis."

"No offense, Juliette, Avery is great." Taylor qualified with a bright smile.

"He is. Sometimes." Juliette micheviously smiled and Avery rolled his eyes playfully.

"Juliette Barnes is making fun of my brother in my living room, what is going on!" Taylor gasped.

Suddenly a voice came beckoning from the kitchen, "Avery, honey, I know you got home three seconds ago but can you come kill this bug, your father is downstairs and…"

"I'm coming!" Avery shouted back, patting Juliette's leg and going to help his mother. She was suddenly left alone with Taylor. The two women in Avery's life sat quietly for a minute. Taylor mouthed a few things, garnering the courage to speak.

"Hey, I didn't mean to freak out before, I don't want you to think I'm some weird fan-girl." Taylor shyly said.

Juliette laughed, "Girl, with some of the people I run into, trust me you're a calm one."

"I just can't believe you're here, and that you're dating my big brother. You're literally a super star."

"And I'm not so intimidating, right?"

"No, and that's the thing, you're like a real person!"

"Wow, thanks." Juliette laughed, and Taylor's face went bright white as soon as she realized what she said, "I didn't mean it like that!" Seeing Juliette laughing made Taylor realize she could loosen up a bit, and she started to laugh as well.

"Taylor, believe it or not, I'm just as nervous as you are."

"Really, why? You're Juliette Barnes you can do anyth-"

"I know I can do anything." Juliette grumbled, remembering that Avery told her the same thing not so long ago, "My goodness you're exactly like your brother."

Taylor looked confused and Juliette just continued, "It doesn't matter how famous or rich or talented I am, being Juliette Barnes doesn't matter here. Here I am Avery's girlfriend, and I want, more than _anything_ to make a good impression on his family and be accepted."

"I'm such an idiot." Taylor said, "You get followed by paparazzi all the time and have your life practically broadcast across the world. I keep treating you like Juliette Barnes, but you never get to be just 'Juliette', and I'm sorry."

Juliette smiled at the 17 year old, "You're a fan, and trust me, that means more to me than you'd think. But as excited as I am to get to know one of my fans this weekend, I really want to get to know my boyfriend's sister. What do you say?"

"I'd like to get to know my brother's girlfriend." Taylor let a smile creep on her face.

The two women shared a smile. Juliette was excited, this was going a lot better than she imagined. Avery's mother was a wonderful, caring person. She met his father in passing in the hallway and like any normal father of three adults and a teenager he polietly waved and welcomed her into his home, making no big deal about her presence. And of course, Taylor was an incredible girl who reminded her so much of Maddie.

Someone else walked through the door just as the Barkleys plus Juliette were about to get some dinner. It was an older male, about late twenties if Juliette could guess. He had thin, curly black hair with a backwards camo hat. "Is Little Miss Avery here! I see his car!"

Juliette looked at Avery, who was sitting on the couch next to her. He tightened his grip around her shoulder and swallowed so hard she could feel it. By the little context she had, she assumed the obnoxious man was his older brother, Dustin.

"Oh boy, Dustin's home." Taylor said, looking over at Avery who rolled his eyes.

By the clues she was quickly collecting, Juliette could tell Avery and Dustin didn't have the greatest relationship.

"Dusty!" Judy yelped from the kitchen.

"Hey ma!" he yelled back, stepping instead into the living room where two of his siblings were.

"Tay, how's it going." Dustin addressed her, running his hands through his hair before putting his hat back on.

"I saw you yesterday, you live like two minutes away." Taylor flatly replied.

"Holy shit." he completely ignored his little sister's snarky response.

Avery knew he wasn't staring at him. Taylor knew he wasn't staring at her. Dustin looked like a deer in headlights as the one and only Juliette Barnes sat on his parent's living room couch.

He took a millisecond to compose himself and then a snarky, almost annoyed grin adorned the older Barkley brother's face. And what he said caused Taylor's eyes to grow wide in shock, Juliette's face to break flat, and Avery's blood to boil in an instant.

"What is this home-wrecker doing in my house?"

* * *

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while, but with all this Nashville hype growing over the new season in a few days, I had to get something out! I tried to introduce/give a bit of characterization to the Barkley's before moving forward so I hope this was enjoyable. Be sure to review! **

**-Bettakappa**


	6. Chapter 6

In Your Corner - Chapter 6

* * *

"What's this homewrecker doing in my house?"

Normally Avery's patience was a something he could keep in check...but not around Dustin. The second those words were uttered from Dustin's mouth, the rage lifted his body off the couch as he sized up his brother.

"You shut the hell up alright, you don't know anything about her!"

"Hey, Juliette, do you want to come see my guitar?" Taylor offered, wanting to remove herself and her new friend from this volatile situation, knowing it was only going to get worse.

"Yeah, okay." Juliette whimpered, following Taylor and trying to hide the tears that were begging to exit her eyes.

Avery made quick eye contact with Juliette as she escaped upstairs. His look tried to tell her that he was so so sorry and that he was with her, no matter what. But through her tears he wasn't sure that she could see that.

Dustin wore a cocky smile when the girls left, "I know she's Juliette Barnes, I know she is a fabricated, shallow, trashy singer, I know that if you kept a list of every dude she's slept with in Nashville you could write a damn novel."

Avery controlled the rage, as he snarled, "If that's all you know, believe me, you don't know her at all."

"You're right, I just learned that I can add my little bro to that list, congrats man, I would have thought you were way out of her league but I guess trash only comes in one flavor."

There were a million things Avery could have commented on from that sentence, but one thing stuck out to him, "For crying out loud, I am twenty-seven years old, I'm not your little bro!"

Dustin rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair, "You're younger than me, that means you're my little brother, okay, and it's my job to keep you in line."

"Since when? You've never looked out for me my entire life and now you want-"

"Boys, boys, boys!" Mrs. Barkely came swiftly into the room, "Avery, you've been home five minutes and you're already at each other!"

"It's not my fault he's dating a walking scandal-generator." Dustin scoffed.

"You're an ass."

"Mom!" Dustin whined at his mother, who pretended like she didn't hear anything.

"Now, Avery, don't be so dramatic, Dusty is just joking around." Judy smiled genuinely.

"Whatever." Avery gave up. If there was one thing he didn't miss about being home it was the extreme 'momma's boy' title that Dustin proudly wore.

The door opened again to interrupt the tension and a woman walked in, holding hands with a little girl who was about four years old.

"Avery! Oh my goodness it's so good to see you!" she exclaimed, picking up her daughter and rushing over to him.

"Hey there, Nikki." Avery managed to smile, then directing his attention to the younger version of Nikki "And hello to you, you've gotten so big since I've seen you."

The little girl just stared at him, almost analyzing his features.

Nicole bounced the girl in her arms, "Well she is just as excited to see her Uncle Avery, aren't you, Eva?"

"Hey, Nik, you'll never guess who Avery is banging." Dusty hollered over after taking a sip of his beer.

"Dustin for the love of god, there is a four year old in the room!" Judy mildy scolded her oldest son and promptly left her children to bicker.

Avery rolled his eyes from the floor where he was playing with his niece.

"Who who who?!" Nicole eagerly sat down next to Dustin on the couch.

"Juliette Barnes."

Nicole slapped her brother's knee, "SHUT UP."

"She's upstairs as we speak! Our moody, misunderstood musician lost his angel wings in Nashville." Dusty laughed.

"Avery, we're supposed to be the irresponsible ones!" Nicole laughed along, "I got pregnant from a one night stand to a loser and Dusty dropped out of college and still comes here to do his laundry...mom and dad can't handle another loose cannon!"

"Would you two just shut up." Avery groaned.

"What do you see in her anyway?" Nicole dug at her brother, "She's literally the exact opposite of Scarlett."

"Ohhh yeah!." Dustin chimed in, "I remember Scarlett, she was that hippie unicorn girl."

"Oh my god I hate both of you." Avery mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Meanwhile upstairs, Juliette was sitting on Taylor's bed.

"And that's just why I think that Taylor Swift shouldn't move to pop music and-" Taylor kept talking to the audience of a barely-there singer.

"What, sorry, I'm sorry I was just…"

"Thinking about what my brothers were yelling about." Taylor smiled.

The look on Juliette's face said it all. Taylor tried to comfort her, "My brothers are idiots."

"All boys are." Juliette smiled back, "It's good that you already know that."

"I have three older siblings, but Avery is my favorite." Taylor said, quickly qualifying it with her next sentence, "And I'm not just saying that because you're his girlfriend."

The singer chuckled a bit and Taylor continued, "Nikki and Dusty have been around my entire life, in this house, with me while I was growing up. They've never gone anywhere, done anything, or wanted to be anybody. But Avery...Avery left for college when he was eighteen and never came back. I was eight, but seeing my big brother leave home and go out on his own to chase his dreams was just really really...cool. No matter how much my mom wanted him to stay, or Dusty made fun of him for being a musician, Avery didn't care, he was always so confident and strong."

Juliette soaked up every word, finally getting a taste of Avery's past, "He is the strongest, best man I know."

She sat there and thought about just how strong her boyfriend was. Parents who selfishly ignored his ambition, siblings who thought his dreams were a joke, it was no wonder he kept that guarded.

Taylor smiled, "He calls me every few weeks or so. And I'm still mad that he never told me about you but whatever!" she made a quick side note before continuing, "Anyway, every time I tell him about a problem I have or something is going wrong he always tells me, 'Tay, it's gonna take more than that to pull you under.' And just like that, it's like he's giving me a little piece of his confidence, and I feel like I can do anything."

Juliette's ears immediately tuned to the hook in her song...their song: "It's gonna take more than that to pull me under." It finally hit her that the emotional undertones of that song weren't one-sided. It wasn't just her problems that were written on the music pages. Avery's thoughts, his feelings, problems, his life was in that song as well. She hadn't even looked hard enough to see it. And just like Taylor, he used those words to give her a little piece of his confidence. And just like Taylor, with him around, Juliette felt like she could do anything.

"It's gonna take more to pull me under." Juliette said softly, unable to control a smile as the wonderful memories of them writing that song came back to her.

Taylor, meanwhile, looked like she was going to explode, "It makes so much sense now! That is one of the lyrics in Don't Put Dirt On My Grave! I should have known!"

Juliette just shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

Taylor laughed along, "Okay, and I know I said I wasn't going to fan-girl around you anymore but can you please, please, please sing that song for me."

"Nope." Juliette responded matter of factly, handing Taylor her guitar back. The girl looked like she was going to dismantle from equal parts embarrassment and uncontested grief.

"I want you to sing it with me." Juliette finished.

Again, a minor explosion occurred for Taylor, "Oh my god, this is like a dream come true, you don't understand."

"I do understand." Juliette shared, "The day I met Rayna Jaymes. I was fifteen years old and it was one the greatest day of my life. It was at some county fair and she signed one of her records for me, nothin' special, just like the hundreds of other people in line. But I held onto that record for years, singing along with her songs in my room, wishing that maybe someday I would be up there in the spotlight with her. And I remember the first time I sang with her on stage, for real, six or so years later. I was famous and so self-absorbed and power-crazy I didn't even realize how much that moment should have meant to me. I was fulfilling a dream and all I cared about was that I got more exposure than her.

"Wow." Taylor simply replied, and quickly lightened the tone, "Well I'm never gonna get famous so don't worry, I'm not gonna do that to you!"

"I thought things couldn't get much worse…." Juliette began…

"...But guess what, they did." Taylor finished, strumming the guitar chord like a natural.

"You hit my heart upside with a wrecking ball."

"Oh but that's what I get."

Expecting Juliette to sing the next line, a very distinctive male voice filled the air, "Well I'm not going nowhere."

The girls looked up to see Avery in the doorway with a serious expression on his face.

Juliette scanned his eyes like a laser. It almost scared her how much they could communicate between four eyes. He looked serious, yes, with a small sense of urgency and most importantly, a heavy amount of truth that manifested itself in the form of the lyrics he just sung. She knew he didn't appear in the doorway at any old random time; he wanted her to know that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Oh come on!" Taylor whined, "I was just about to sing a duet with Juliette and-"

"Shut up Taylor." Avery responded, keeping his eyes locked on Juliette, "Can I talk to you."

"Tay, I'll be back in a minute." Juliette responded, getting up and following Avery into what she quickly figured out was his childhood bedroom.

Her eyes wandered immediately, again taking every opportunity to gather information about Avery. Records from AC/DC to Deacon Claybourne adorned the shelves. What shocked her were the amount of books that complimented the enormous music collection. She felt like she knew him so well, yet there were gaps in her knowledge of Avery Barkley. They were gaps that were the size of continental faults that definitely needed filling if she wanted to understand him as deeply as he understood her.

"Jules, focus please." He said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just singing with your sister and-"

"I mean, about what happened downstairs."

She shifted a bit, "Avery, you know more than anyone how many people hate me. I'm beyond used to it."

"This is different, and you know it." he instantly replied. Damn, he could see right through her.

"Dustin is a Jeff Fordham level asshole, he always has been. I just want you to know that I hate him, and if my mother and sister wouldn't have been around I would have strangled him with my bare hands."

She managed to chuckle, and rubbed her hands along his arms, "I know. Thank you."

"Weird as it sounds, there is one good thing about Dusty. When he was talking about you, it physically hurt _me._ Someone attacking you was someone attacking me, and that's the first time that's ever happened. It made me realize just how important you are to me. You're my family now. I love you more than I thought was humanly possible, Jules."

"I know you do." she softly smiled, immediately grappling into his arms, holding him tightly and keeping her and Taylor's conversation close to heart, "And you have meant more to me than any man I've ever known."

"I want you to know _all _of me. You deserve that." he whispered.

"What else is there to know?" she whispered back, trying to make it sound like a mild joke, but the question was definitely triggered by an intense fear of the unknown.

"Let's take a walk."

* * *

**A/N: Alrighty, hope yinz enjoyed this chapter! It took a long time to write, mainly because I had no clue where it was going, but I think there's some really interesting things to come. I also included a Sex and the City line in here, maybe you caught it? Anyway, be sure to review! Thank you so much! -Bettakappa**

**Side note: Season 3 Javery is actually killing me. **


	7. Chapter 7

In Your Corner - Chapter 17

* * *

"So what's there to know about you that I don't already?" Juliette asked rather directly as they walked down the quiet suburban streets, letting her hand lightly string through Avery's.

Avery shrugged, "Ah, I don't know, I was just being dramatic I guess."

She looked at him skeptically, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I mean. It's obvious I have a good set of folks and my siblings mean well." he took a minute to look around, his eyes strained from the sunlight, "It just wasn't that easy growing up in there."

"Because of music?" Juliette let her clue-collecting go to work.

"That and just being creative in general. Nikki and Dusty were never gonna amount to much you know but I had brains, that's what they called it. My momma and dad thought I was gonna be the one to bail the family out, go be a doctor or a lawyer or professor, make tons of money."

His girlfriend watched silently. She read every detail of his face, every twitch of every nerve. "And I liked school, it was fine, but the only things I ever wanted to do was read and write. I wanted to create something, not be stuck in an office."

"You are very cultured." she laughed, remembering the days early on in their relationship where they watched Fellini.

Avery managed to crack a smile, "Yeah, but that obviously didn't go well with my parents. They hounded me to do my homework, take harder classes, they even paid for SAT prep classes so I was guaranteed to get into a good school."

"How did your siblings react to that?"

"Not well." he responded simply, "Dusty and Nikki have been working their whole lives at mediocre jobs, helping out with the bills for all of us and here I was taking their hard earned money for SAT classes and getting all of mom and dad's attention."

"Still have some of that contempt I see." Juliette noticed.

"You think?" he laughed, "Thank god Tay was still a kid when all this happened, she still likes me."

"So what did happen, you went to college right? That's how you met Scarlett."

"Well the whole time I was in high school, the second I got done with school work and stuff, I'd go up to my room and play guitar and right songs. That's why I got my work done, that's what I looked forward to. And my parents knew this, you know, they were never really music people but as long as I got my work done it was fine."

"I never even had a guitar." Juliette related his musical past to her own, "I'd go upstairs whenever my momma wasn't home and listen to her records to make some sound 'cause it was scary being home all alone, it made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore."

"Music was that for me too. I didn't have many friends and I didn't really care 'cause I'd rather had Johnny Cash singing to me than hanging out with some stupid 18 year old hicks. Anyway, I got into college for pre-med and everything was great. I went my first semester and it was so so so clear that pre-med wasn't for me. I switched my major to English with a music minor and did that for two years."

"Two years?!" Juliette exclaimed, "What did your parents say to … oh."

"Yeah they didn't know." Avery shook his head, "Whenever they found out, they threatened to stop paying for tuition if I didn't go back to a med or law major and I told them to forget it. Lo and behold, the checks stopped coming in and I dropped out and fled to Nashville just like that."

"Oh my god." Juliette was shocked to learn this new information about her trusting, responsible, loving boyfriend.

"Yeah I mean, I didn't talk to them for maybe 5 years but I've been able to mend some fences since then and we're on okay terms now."

"Avery I'm so…"

"Don't be, it was all my fault."

"Do you regret it?"

"Which part?"

"Any part."

"Not at all." he smiled into the Mississippi sunshine, "I'm happier than I've ever been precisely because of all the decisions I've made up to this point. Sure all the stuff in between points A and B wasn't always peachy but I've got everything I've ever wanted now."

"So if you're already at point B, what else?" Juliette wondered out loud.

"What do you mean? I have an producing gig, I've already produced some successful albums, I'm in a band with my friends, my family and I are okay, and I'm in love."

"Is that all there is?" she nagged

"I mean, I may be at point B in my life, but you did learn that there were more than two letters in the alphabet, right?"

Juliette annoyingly rolled her eyes at him, "No way I had no idea."

"Points C, D, E, F, G are gonna happen, but now I have all these amazing things to come with me."

"Here I am, trying to be all philosophical but you're so smart you still make me look like a fool." Juliette laughed to lighten the mood.

"Who is the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows her?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Yoda?"

"Okay, number one, Master Yoda it is. And number two, it means I am so crazy in love with you it's unbelievable."

"Oh really?" Juliette bit her lip.

"Come on, you like me." he gave her that half grin that drove her crazy.

"Yeah, I mean, a tiny bit" Juliette started laughing, pinching her fingers together sarcastically. Avery rolled his eyes and so she grabbed the back of his head and pulled it towards hers for a kiss. Once they broke apart, Juliette lingered for a second to whisper in Avery's ear, "I love you, too."

"Let's go back to the Barkley residence so we can move on to point C of our lives." he joked, grabbing her hand and finishing the final stretch of their walk.

"I know you're a man with a plan, so what exactly is point C?" she asked.

Avery gripped her hand a bit tighter, and then suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.

"Woah there." Juliette almost fell forward, then looked up at her boyfriend, "What's going on?"

Avery released her hand from his almost instantly and began feeling around in his pockets. His right arm settled in his right jean pocket, seemingly content with what it had found. He then took a step in front of her and got down on one knee.

Juliette almost had a heart attack. Plan C.

He looked up at her with all the love he found for this broken woman, and she looked down at him with all the love that she never could muster up for anyone else.

"Juliette."

She couldn't talk if she tried.

"I know this is unexpected, but that's how life is. So I'm asking you know, will you…"

It was happening, my god it was happening.

"...help me find my house key."

Her mind snapped in half, _"What." _

He removed his hand from his pocket to show the inside of his jeans, hopelessly key-less.

"We need to find my key or we can't get back into my house." he laughed, starting to feel around the ground.

"Avery Barkley, you are the biggest asshole I've ever met in my entire life!" she laughed, still reeling from the shock, and the fact that she fell for it.

"Come on, we're in the middle of a Mississippi neighborhood!" he laughed, standing up.

Juliette couldn't keep her angry face up, she looked equal parts pissed, fooled, and in shock, "God I hate you."

"I love you too." he rejoined her on the trek back to his house, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Juliette grabbed the top of his hand and kissed it gently, "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

"I'm sorry, babe. I couldn't resist." he laughed, with sincerity in his voice as his hand reached out and grabbed the front door. He paused again, looking back at her, brows wide, "But it's coming, don't worry."

Avery's words hit her like a freight train as disappeared into the home and she followed him like a ghost. For the second time that evening, she couldn't talk if she tried.

* * *

**A/N: ****Oh hey everybody! In an effort to avoid real life obligations, I decided to revisit one of my favorite fics since Nashville is in the final stretch of season 3. Anyway, while it's hard to imagine these two not being married and parents to a baby girl (!), I hope you enjoyed the update as I dug myself out of a writing hole and am back on track to finish this story in a few chapters. As always please review, it makes the writing process go magically faster!**

**Best,**

**Bettakappa**


	8. Chapter 8

In Your Corner - Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello everyone (is there anyone even left lol?!). I haven't updated this in basically a lifetime, and I apologize for that. I hope you enjoy this latest installment and that it distracts you from the pure hell Javery fans are going through right now. Be sure to drop a review so that we can discuss the major lack of Nashville together. -BK**

* * *

"It's a shame you guys have to go already!" Mrs. Barkley lamented, hugging her son goodbye.

"It was a nice break, I'm so happy I got to come home." Avery replied. He moved on to his sister, "Bye, Nik."

"Mhhmmm" she said, hugging her little brother, "Bye, Avery. As much as I get on you, I'm glad you're happy and I'm gonna miss you."

Avery was taken aback. He always knew his older sister had a soft spot for him but it was nice to hear her finally say something like that aloud. It seemed that the olive branch he extended by coming down south to visit for a few days was finally, sort of, accepted by his once estranged family.

"Don't worry, Nikki, you'll always be able to see Mr. Barnes on the tabloids." Dusty said, wrapping up his brother for a bear hug.

Avery rolled his eyes and tapped Dustin's back lightly, "I'll see you around, Dusty."

"Where is your girlfriend anyway?" Dustin asked.

Avery took the fact that his brother didn't use an offensive nickname for Juliette as a small victory and shrugged, "I think she's saying goodbye to Tay."

* * *

"I'm going to miss you!" Taylor hugged her idol, "It's been so awesome having you here."

"I'm going to miss you too!" Juliette smiled, "Thanks for welcoming me to your family."

Taylor laughed, "Believe me, you're a welcomed addition. Avery is so much happier now, it's crazy."

The country singer blushed, "Thank god you didn't know me before I met your brother, but trust me, he makes me so much happier too."

"All I knew about you was that you were the new feistier Rayna Jaymes." Taylor admitted, "I'm so glad I got to know the real Juliette."

Juliette bit her lip, "Well the feisty part is correct, but I'm used to it. The media grabs on to any angle they can."

"That sucks."

"I know it does. And for the record, I had just as much fun getting to know you, Taylor. You are a really talented and amazing girl."

Taylor cowered and Juliette laughed. The girl still had her moments of star-struck-ness, "Really?"

"Of course. I know your stupid brother kept this a secret, but we'd love to have you on the tour, in the audience, whatever you want."

Taylor collapsed on her bed, "No way."

Juliette patted her leg, "You bet. And I'm sure you want autographs and whatever, but that's what I do for my fans. You're family, so I'm going to give you this."

Juliette slid a piece of paper over and Taylor looked confused, "Is this…."

"My phone number." Juliette finished for her, "You can call me, text, anytime."

Taylor stood up and hugged Juliette again, "Thank you, Juliette, thank you."

"Your kindness towards me when I met your family means more to me than you'll ever know, especially since your siblings aren't my biggest fans." Juliette told her, "So be a sister, not a stranger, okay?"

"Okay!" Taylor murmured, still staring at the number in her hand.

Suddenly a yell came from downstairs, "Taylor did you abduct Juliette?! Come on!"

"I get blamed for everything." Taylor grumbled, leading Juliette downstairs.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Avery asked, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's waist.

"Yes sir." Juliette replied, casually waving to the two oldest Barkley siblings and hugging Mrs. Barkley. Nikki and Dusty nodded, seemingly indifferent to her presence. Juliette couldn't blame them, with what they knew about her it was impossible to magically be friends after three days. Oh well, Juliette figured, there'd be time to build those bridges later on.

"Where's dad?" Avery asked.

His mom shrugged, "Probably out in the garage, you can say goodbye to him on the way out.

The Barnes-Barkley duo exited with their bags and stepped into Avery's truck.

"Bye, Mr. Barkley!" Juliette waved from the dashboard.

"Good luck on tour, dear." Paul waved back nicely. Juliette smiled. Avery's dad was a non-nonsense guy, she liked that.

"Dad." Avery jogged over, "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute."

Paul set down the set of screwdrivers he was organizing, "Sure, son."

"I...I've been talking to Juliette, and...I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" his dad asked.

"Yeah, I know that we've been better the past few years but everyone seems to still be sort of walking on eggshells around me. I get it, I really do, but I'm just here to say that I'm sorry for what I put you guys through. Last time I apologized for not telling you about switching majors in college and fleeing town but I realized that I disappeared for five years. That's a long time, dad, and I just never seemed to apologize for that."

"Kid, we were both upset with each other but you have to know that we, and I mean the whole family, was worried about you. We know we put you through a lot and we wanted you to come home so bad, but you never did."

"I know that, and I don't want you to think that I ran away because I hated you guys."

"Well that's sure what it seemed like. Why'd you do it, son?" Paul asked.

"When you love someone you'd rather die than hurt them." Avery said, "And I guess I know now that I was ashamed that I let you down so I did the next best thing to dyin'...I disappeared."

"Avery." Paul inhaled, "We both made mistakes in the past but I appreciate you coming over here and saying all this to me, that takes a man to be able to do that. And my job as your father wasn't to make sure that you became a doctor, it was to make sure that you became a great man."

Avery smiled a bit as his father patted his shoulder, "You've become that. And I'm so proud of you, son."

"Thanks, dad."

"You've got a great lady in your corner, you know. I know Dustin and Nicole have their issues but I don't care about all that pop-culture mumbo jumbo. From what I've seen, in my home, she's a strong and sincere woman…. I thought poor Taylor was going to die of happiness." he chucked, "I'll tell you right now son, don't lose her."

Avery kicked the ground, unable to contain the grin on his face, "I'd be a damn fool to lose her."

* * *

Hopping into the driver's side door after the talk with his father, Juliette was smiling weirdly at him.

"What?" Avery asked, pulling out of the driveway and heading to the freeway.

"That seemed chummy." Juliette said, referencing the father-son bonding that she witnessed from the front seat.

"After that talk we had the other day it just made me think about what I told you, that I didn't regret what I did." Avery began to explain, "But I realized I did regret what it did to my relationship with my family, I can't imagine what it's like to have your son disappear for five years."

Juliette smiled proudly, "That's so sweet."

He rolled his eyes, "Thanks."

"I'm serious, babe, I'm so happy that you got what you needed out of this trip."

"I wouldn't have been able to if you weren't there with me." he replied honestly, "I know it was hard for you, so thank you."

"I like your family." she replied somewhat honestly, "People fight and bicker, it's normal family stuff that I actually like, you know I never had that."

"Oh we have that." Avery laughed with wide eyes, "I think Dustin is probably the most idiotic human being to ever grace the earth."

"But Taylor is just the sweetest girl." Juliette lamented.

"Yeah you two really bonded, I'm glad." Avery smiled, "She's my favorite sibling, you know."

Juliette laughed sarcastically, "Wow, I had no idea."

They stopped at a stop light and Juliette showed him her phone, "Look what I posted."

Avery saw Juliette's instagram and smiled. It was a selfie of Juliette and Taylor in her room, with Taylor's guitar on the young Barkley's lap. The caption said, "On break from the tour but still making music with my #1 fan and sister, the talented Tay_Barks."

"Aw that's sweet." Avery smiled. He loved that two of the most important women in his life were so connected, even after just three short days, "She's going to be the most popular girl in school after that."

As if on cue, Juliette's phone lit up. It was a text from Taylor:

_Love the instagram post! Miss you already….and maybe Avery too :) _

The couple smiled and talked as they drove back to their home state of Tennessee. All of Juliette's apprehension was in the past and she couldn't have been happier. Back on the road with her band, her fans, and her man.

But one seat over, Avery, who had just braced his family, was far more nervous than he'd ever been. He looked at the beautiful woman whom he had jokingly almost proposed to. Always a man with a plan, he wondered if Juliette knew he'd done that strategically.

Avery had thought about marriage once with Scarlett. The only time he thought about it was when he first saw her and Gunnar on stage together, making that sweet sound that only they could muster. In the weird selfish rockstar attitude that he was sporting back in those times, he was furious that some punk had serious chemistry with his girlfriend. But deep down he was also relieved because he knew that with those sparks he saw igniting on stage at the Bluebird, his relationship was going to sputter out and stall before he ever had to think about entering into the shackles that was marriage.

Now he couldn't wait to enter the shackles, knowing that it was Juliette Barnes who he'd be tied to forever. Knowing her, they'd shake and rattle those chains for a lifetime of unpredictable bliss.

But first she had to say yes. He just hoped that what he was planning worked.


	9. Chapter 9

In Your Corner

Chapter 9

* * *

"Juliette will you take this ring, will you take all the love it brings…..I'm dead set on being with you until the end of time, so take this ring and…..good lord, I just need this song to rhyme!"

Avery threw down his guitar in frustration. On the drive home from his parents he was so sure he had the perfect plan to ask for Juliette's hand in marriage. He was a brilliant songwriter and producer, right? He was just going to whip up a love song for his future bride, simple as that.

But, as he was discovering, it wasn't exactly easy to craft a song as proposal bait.

Days of spark-less songs turned to weeks, and he decided that it was time to seek professional help.

"Mr. Barkley, you in here?" A distinct southern drawl echoed through the hotel room.

"Yep, I'm set up here." Avery replied, standing up to great Deacon as he took his legendary guitar out of the case, "Thanks for coming over, Deacon, I'm just so stuck, I think having someone's input will be good you know."

"Totally." Deacon laughed, "Believe me, we've all been there. And I know your usual writing partner can't really help you out on this one, so I'm happy to be of service."

The men sat down and started haphazardly strumming.

"So what do you want to say to her?"

"I want to ask her to marry me." Avery bluntly replied, blinking like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What do you _really_ want to say?"

Avery leaned back into the couch, groaning. "That's the thing, when you write you're supposed to draw on your personal experiences, but there's just so much to say, I don't know what to do!"

"Well dig deep, my friend, this is a big deal." Deacon laughed, trying to lighten the mood. But when he saw Avery's eyes grow wide he knew he said something wrong.

"Well I mean, not a _huge _deal but...Avery, are you worried that Juliette is gonna say no?"

The younger guitarist shook his head, "No, it's not that. I'm worried that whatever I do won't be perfect enough for her. She is perfect to me, and she's had such a shitty family life thus far, I want to give her a perfect life and the perfect family and this is the first thing that needs to be perfect-"

"Alright, a few too many 'perfects' in there for me, my friend." Deacon smiled.

"If I can't even get this right how am I supposed to be her husband-"

"Listen here, Avery, now you know how much I love music, but once you try to make it a problem-fixer, something that does too much….you lose the magic."

Avery nodded in acceptance for what Deacon said. The elder guitarist patted his friend on the back, "But you just showed yourself there, and I think you got your song."

* * *

Juliette threw her papers down in understanding, "So, show tonight at 8, you do your set, we do "Wrong Song" and then I do a set. Sounds great."

A few seconds passed that allowed Rayna and Juliette to gather their belongings and head out of the arena back to the hotel.

"So, do you think Avery is going to propose soon?" Rayna replied out of the blue.

Juliette almost spilled her coffee, "Excuse me?"

"I mean you two have been going strong for a while now, you know, haven't you talked about it?"

"I think he may be ready to ask me to go steady real soon!" Juliette fired back at Rayna's nagging, fixing her hair haphazardly.

The exec rolled her eyes, "Sorry for being curious!"

"I don't know." She replied honestly, "Truth is, we haven't talked about it at all. But I think he's been hinting at it the last few weeks. I have no idea what to do."

"Juliette, are you scared about getting married to Avery?"

The younger singer shook her head, "No, it's not that. I'm scared that I won't be a good enough wife to him. He is perfect to me, and he's been through so much with his family thus far, I want to be able to be the perfect family he deserves and knowing it's going to happen soon is making me so anxious."

"Girl." Rayna drawled out with a smile, "Since when has Juliette Barnes ever been anxious about anything?"

Juliette managed to crack a smile under her reserved facade, "Is that a bitchy way of telling me to just be myself?"

Rayna was already headed out the door and chuckled, "See you on the stage tonight!"

* * *

_And it may as well have been a three foot room._

_Because the only one in my view was you._

_The funny thing about that night_

_Is that I already had someone at my side. But…._

_All the noise and all the faces just went away when you turned around and_

_Your smile made me feel like I'd lost my footing on solid ground and_

_I should have known it then_

_But everything got better when_

_Our shoulders met._

_Good thing I don't care much about numbers cause_

_There ain't enough to count our flaws _

_Some say one plus one equals two but_

_It adds up to infinity when I'm with you_

_I smile when you're near and I still refuse._

_To take my hand off that bruise cause_

_It's a memory that nature kept_

_No pictures, no words, no names….except_

_All the noise and all the faces just went away when you turned around and_

_Your smile made me feel like I'd lost my footing on solid ground and_

_I should have known it then_

_But everything got better when_

_Our shoulders met._

And with the final strum Avery smiled at Deacon, "It's perfect, man."

"Well it sure is, I think you nailed it."

"God, I hope she loves it." Avery exhaled, putting his guitar on the couch gently.

Deacon stood up, "No doubt in my mind, the message is clear; because of you, my life got better. It's a beautiful tune."

"Thanks again, Deacon." Avery smiled, "I was in such a rut."

"Love will do that to you, huh?" He smiled and headed towards the door, "I better get back to my room and get ready for the show tonight, I'll see you on stage, brother."

As soon as Deacon went to leave, the hotel room door opened as if by magic.

Juliette, who had just returned from her pre-show meeting with Rayna, had appeared. With two sets of eyes on her, she looked both confused and ambushed, "Well, hey there."

"Well if it isn't the boss herself, I'll be ready for the show I promise you that." Deacon confessed with a smile, "Just doing some writing with your ball and chain."

She softened, "I trust you, you know that. It's him I don't trust." Juliette nodded her head over towards Avery, "You stealing my guitarist, huh?"

Deacon shuffled through the door jokingly, "I'll let the power couple sort this out, see y'all later."

"I prefer borrowing." Avery replied with a cocky smile once they were alone.

Juliette promptly fell on the couch where Avery had re-taken his seat and cuddled into his side, "I love being back on tour but I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Gently kissing her forehead, he couldn't help but grin, "You see way too much of me so I'll take that as a compliment."

"Mhmm," she relished in his touch, "So what were you and Deacon up to?"

Avery chuckled internally. If anyone could switch gears that quickly to get to the bottom of something, it was Juliette Barnes.

"Just writing like he said. We work really well together."

"Oh I don't doubt that." Juliette assured him, "You two are great. But why do you or him need to write when you're in the band of one of the world's greatest pop country artist?"

"Well…." Avery drawled out, "First of all, he's not in your band, he's just visiting. And second, it was nothing, just passing time before the show. He had some things he wanted to-"

"So you weren't writing a song for me?" She inquired, looking straight at her boyfriend, who instantly flinched.

"What?"

"I don't know, we normally write together so…."

"Damn it!" Avery groaned. Anytime he tried to hide something from Juliette she found out anyway.

"Wait so you did write a song for me." Juliette smiled, sitting up in front of him like a dog.

"Yes, fine." Avery replied, annoyed.

"Ah, that's so sweet, Avery." She patted his chest, Rayna's words from earlier echoing in her mind.

"Don't think too much into it, okay, it's almost our two year anniversary and-"

"Oh that's it?" She pried, biting her lip.

He bit his lip back. This girl was going to be the death of him, "Yep, that's it."

"Whatever you say, babe," she kissed him quickly and walked away into their room to get ready. "Hope it's got a good _ring_ to it!"

Avery collapsed on the couch with a grunt. He should have known this wasn't going to be easy. The song was great, no doubt about it. He could still sing it and make her cry and move her to say 'yes' like Plan A was supposed to be executed. But like he confided in Deacon earlier, she deserved to be blown away in what was going to be chapter one in the rest of their lives together.

* * *

Four weeks later, Juliette's tour returned to Nashville for a small performance at the Ryman with Rayna.

"The air is just fresher here." Juliette exclaimed, walking hand-in-hand with her boyfriend into the back of the auditorium.

"Well, it certainly feels like home." Avery answered, bringing their joined hands up to his mouth to press a quick kiss to hers.

"I just love doing the show here every year."

"They've certainly been iconic." Avery laughed, remembering her "suck it Jeff Fordham" moment two years ago.

"Now that I think about it, that was the best day of my life."

Avery shrugged, able to agree with the career-defining moment, "I was so proud watching you up there, babe. To anyone else your career would've been over, but "Don't Put Dirt-"

"Wait, what?"

"Two years ago, when you sang "Don't Put Dirt on my Grave" at the Opry…" he frowned looking at her.

"I was talking about three years ago." Juliette replied.

It took Avery an instant to remember, and a smile magically appeared on his face. Juliette, watching her boyfriend's face light up at the mention of that day, smiled back.

"The day we first met." He whispered.

"And I thought you were the romantic one."

"Shut up and come here." He laughed, hugging his girl tight and kissing her.

Avery was in shock that she actually remembered. Unbenownst to Juliette, he did too of course. But he didn't want to reveal his hand too soon, he didn't want to reveal that today while three years ago was the best day of his life….it would soon be replaced by today.

Ten minutes after show time, Juliette strutted down the concourse feeling powerful and confident. Amongst the hustle and bustle of post-show backstage, she saw Avery walking towards her. Unlike three years ago, they caught each other's eyes from far away. Unlike three years ago, they smiled at each other like a couple furiously in love. But quite similar to three years ago, Avery walked right into Juliette's left shoulder.

"Nice one." Juliette laughed, noticing a black item fall onto the ground. Thinking it was a stack of guitar picks, she picked it up. The instant her fingers touched the fallen thing, her heart dropped. It was a velvet box.

"Avery…." She drawled out, turning around to get an explanation from her boyfriend, but in her shock, she didn't see him right away. Her head cocked down and tears immediately filled her eyes. Everyone who had filled the concourse moments ago had vanished except one man with long, black hair, down on one knee in front of her.

"Hey, Jules." He greeted her nonchalantly like they were just meeting for coffee.

"You're….you're not going to ask me to help find your house keys again are you?" She exhaled while hysterically crying. She could not believe this was happening.

"Nah, not this time." He smiled back.

"Okay." she prepared herself.

"Juliette, this is a proposal." He started off, "And a proposal is a formal plan put forward for consideration."

"Thanks, yoda." She rolled her tear-filled eyes jokingly.

"Hey, bear with me here." He laughed, "Anyway, I could stand-well, kneel here and tell you how much I love you, how happy you make me, but you already know that. What you don't know is that I plan on becoming your husband, and spending every single day for the rest of my life right by your side, no matter what, what do you say?"

Juliette shook her head up and down, unable to get the words out immediately. It was perfect, he was perfect.

"I say yes." She muttered once he had risen from his post.

"Yes?" He was crying now.

"Yes."

Avery engulfed her in a hug, pressing kiss after kiss on her face, "I love you, babe."

"I love you too." She said as she watched the man of her dreams slide a gorgeous ring down her finger.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I feel like this story has basically been about Javery's road to proposal, so I hope you enjoyed the payoff. It was certainly a pleasure to write after eight chapters (and knowing the current state of Javery on TV). This may be the end, I don't really know where to take it, but I've been known to resurrect stories so who knows. Thanks a lot everyone -Bettakappa**


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